The Meaning of Family
by LuckyxLabradoodlexLoverx7
Summary: AU: Meredith and Derek have finally settled down and are expecting their first child together and discover the true meaning of family. My first attempt at a Grey’s Anatomy fic, so bare with me, please. Either three or four shot. NOW COMPLETE!
1. The Beginning

Disclaimer – I own nothing of Grey's Anatomy, except my original characters and plot. The rest belongs to the creators of Grey's Anatomy.

_**Italics **_are lyrics and flashbacks

A/N: I was watching a few episodes of Grey's Anatomy and decided to try my hand at a Grey's Anatomy fic.

Summary: AU: Meredith and Derek have finally settled down and are expecting their first child together and discover the true meaning of family. My first attempt at a Grey's Anatomy fic, so bare with me, please. Either three or four shot.

Rating: T

Genre: General/None

* * *

CHAPTER ONE  
(chapter title – The Beginning)

_Meredith Shepherd smiled at her husband, the very successful Dr. Derek Shepherd. The two of them were in bed, naked from the waist down._

"_Mer, sweetie – are you sure about this?" Derek asked his wife, running his hands up and down her ribcage. Meredith nodded and watched as Derek took off his sweatpants and put a condom on before going inside Meredith._

_After eight hours of lovemaking, Meredith felt herself grow tired, but she wouldn't let herself fall asleep. Derek gave a final thrust and pulled out._

"_Shit." He swore under his breath._

"_What?" Meredith inquired, drawing the blankets around her._

"_The condom broke." Derek answered, throwing the torn condom away before getting out of bed and walked to the bathroom across the hall to wash his hands. Meredith propped herself up on her elbow and waited for her husband to join her. He joined her thirty seconds later, kissing her forehead as he climbed in next to her._

"_I love you." Meredith whispered, running her hands through Derek's hair._

"_I love you, too." Derek told her, kissing her hands._

_Two weeks later, something wasn't right – Meredith spent the entire day in the bathroom, throwing up. Derek felt torn – he was needed at work, but Meredith needed him more._

"_Mer, you okay?" Derek inquired, knocking softly on the bathroom door._

"_I will be – I think it was something I ate yesterday." Meredith answered, her voice muffled._

"_I'm going into work for a while – call if you need anything." Derek told her._

"_I will." Meredith answered._

_At work, Derek went directly to the Pedriatric Ward. Arizona Robbins and Alex Karev were there as well, looking over their charts for that morning. Derek looked at his chart and went to his first room, whistling a happy tune._

_Upon entering the patient's room, he stopped whistling and looked at the sickly little girl on the bed in front of him. According to his charts, her name was Sophie and she had stage three leukemia._

"_How is she, doctor?" Sophie's mother asked, entering the room, a coffee cup in her hand._

"_She's hanging on, Mrs. Nobel." Derek answered, taking Sophie's vitals. _

"_Will she die?" a young-sounding voice inquired. Derek looked down and saw Sophie's younger sister, Sarah, clinging to her mother's leg. Derek knelt down and smiled at the young girl._

"_What's your name?" Derek asked._

"_Sarah." The girl replied._

"_Well, Sarah, I can't give you a straight answer right now."_

"_I don't want her to die." Sarah said, tears in her beautiful blue eyes._

"_May I hold her?" Derek asked Mrs. Nobel. She nodded and Derek carefully picked up the young girl, holding her close._

"_Your sister is going to be just fine." Derek half-lied. He knew that Sophie had little chance to live without a bone marrow transplant – no one in Sophie's family was a match, so that was very difficult._

"_I believe you doctor." Sarah told Derek, kissing his cheek. Derek smiled and put Sarah back down._

"_I'm going to check on the rest of my patients then I'll be back." Derek told the Nobel family. Mrs. Nobel nodded and sat in the chair next to Sophie's bed._

_It was after lunch and Derek was about to go on afternoon rounds when his cell phone rang. Looking at the caller ID, it was Meredith. He went into the on-call room and closed the door behind him._

"_Hello?" Derek whispered._

"_Derek? It's me." Meredith's sweet voice was on the other line._

"_Meredith, are you okay?" Derek questioned, feeling some panic in his voice._

"_I'm fine – I just threw up for the tenth time today and I have a headache."_

"_Do you want me to come home?" Derek inquired._

"_No, but I was wondering what time you were coming home."_

"_I don't know, Mer." Derek answered._

"_Okay – I love you."_

"_Love you, too."_

_Derek hung up his phone and put it back in his breast pocket. He then exited the room and went back to work._

_A week later, it was confirmed that Meredith was pregnant. Derek gently kissed Meredith's stomach and looked into her deep green eyes._

"_I hope we have a daughter." Derek said, holding Meredith that night._

"_Why?" Meredith asked, rubbing her thumb up and down Derek's hand._

"_I was the only boy in a family of five and I love my sisters dearly."_

"_I want a son." Meredith said, running a hand through Derek's hair._

"_I suppose either one would be great." Derek told her, kissing her forehead._

_It turned out at Meredith's doctor's appointment that they were expecting twins – one boy and one girl. Meredith kissed Derek on the lips and looked down at her stomach._

"_Looks like we each got what we wanted." Derek whispered in Meredith's ear. Meredith nodded and watched Derek's hand make its way over her stomach._

"_What are you doing?" Meredith inquired, lifting her head slightly off her pillow._

"_Just wondering what our children are doing in there." Derek answered, smiling at his wife._

_Nine months later, Meredith went into labor at 8:00 in the morning. Derek rushed Meredith to the hospital and got her checked into a hospital room._

_He spent all of Meredith's twenty-six hour labor with her, refusing to leave her side. Their son was born first, followed by their daughter. _

"_They're beautiful." Derek whispered, motioning that he wanted to hold a baby. Meredith smiled and handed him the baby wrapped in a pink blanket._

_After an hour of arguing about baby names, they finally settled on April Rose Shepherd and Sean Eric Shepherd for the twins._

"_I love the names we picked for them – they're perfect." Derek told Meredith, putting April in her basinet, put Sean in his and climbed in next to Meredith._

_An hour later, there was a knock on the door. Derek quickly went to answer it. On the other side were Callie, Arizona, Cristina, Owen, Izzie, Alex, Lexie and Mark. Behind them, were Dr. Bailey and Dr. Webber._

"_Hey everyone." Derek whispered, watching everyone file into the room._

"_So?" Izzie inquired, raising an eyebrow._

"_What?" Derek asked._

"_Where are the babies?" Cristina demanded, looking around the room._

"_They're sleeping, so is Meredith." Derek's voice remained in a whisper so that he wouldn't wake up his sleeping family._

"_Aww – they're adorable." Lexie whispered, making her way over to the basinets where the twins were sleeping._

"_Thank you. Their names are April and Sean." Derek told his friends, gently picking up the babies and handed his daughter to Callie and his son to Lexie._

"_Hi there little one." Callie cooed to April when she woke up. Derek rushed over and smiled when he saw his daughter awake._

_After everyone left and the babies were down for the night, Derek climbed in next to Meredith and held her all through the night, promising that he would tend to the babies if they woke up. _

_The two of them looked at each other and smiled - they now had the perfect family._


	2. The Nightmare

A/N: The first half of the chapter is the normal chapt. The second half is Derek's nightmare. Hope that clears stuff up for people.

* * *

CHAPTER TWO  
(chapter title – The Nightmare)

"Mer, you ready to go?" Derek inquired, looking over at Meredith. She was busy getting the twins changed into clean outfits.

"Just about – April just spit up all over her outfit, now I need to find her a new one." Meredith replied, quickly changing her daughter. Derek walked over and picked up his little boy.

"Hey Sean – are you ready to come home?" Derek asked his little boy. Sean just blinked and yawned. Derek smiled, taking the baby's reply as a 'yes'.

"Okay, now we're ready to go." Meredith told her husband, carefully picking up April. Derek smiled and followed Meredith out of the room carrying Sean.

Ten minutes later, the family was in the car on the way home. Derek drove while Meredith sat in the backseat with the twins, both of whom were fast asleep.

Half an hour later, Derek pulled the car in the driveway and went to help his wife bring in the twins. Upon entering the house, Derek turned on the lights and their friends popped out from various hiding spots.

"WELCOME HOME DEREK, MEREDITH, SEAN AND APRIL!" the friends whispered so that they wouldn't wake up the sleeping babies.

"Thanks you guys." Derek thanked his friends, getting Sean out of his carrier while Meredith got April out of hers.

"May I hold one?" Lexie asked. Derek nodded and handed her Sean. Mark looked over Lexie's shoulder and gently touched the sleeping baby's arm.

"Cristina, would you like to hold April?" Meredith asked her best friend.

"I really don't like kids, so no." Cristina told her, sitting down on the couch. Owen sat next to her and motioned that he would like to hold April. Meredith instructed him about how to hold the baby as she handed her daughter to Owen. Owen looked down at her and then looked up at Meredith.

"She looks like her mother." Owen told Meredith. Meredith smiled and went to join Derek. She rested her head on his shoulder and looked into his kind eyes. Derek smiled and kissed Meredith's forehead.

"What do you say after everyone leaves, let's put the twins in the nursery and have a little alone time." Derek purred in Meredith's ear, making her laugh.

An hour later, everyone left, except for Lexie and Mark – Meredith and Derek had asked them to stay behind.

"We would be honored if you two were the twins' godparents." Derek told the couple. Lexie's eyes welled up with tears as she hugged first Derek then Meredith. Meredith hugged her half-sister back, stroking her dark hair.

"Let us know when you need us to babysit and we would be happy to." Mark told the couple. Both Meredith and Derek nodded, knowing how touching that was coming from Mark.

Once Lexie and Mark left, Meredith and Derek put April and Sean in the nursery before going to the master bedroom to have some time to themselves.

Meredith fell asleep instantly, but Derek remained awake, keeping an ear open so that he could listen to the twins.

After the Shepherd's had their nap, Meredith went to pump while Derek stayed with the twins. The couple's two black-and-white cats, sisters named Oreo and Panda came out of their hiding spots and sniffed the air.

"Mer, the cats are out." Derek called, shooing the cats away from the babies. Oreo meowed happily and batted Derek's fingers, accidently scratching him, which caused him to cry out.

"Der, is everything okay out there?" Meredith called from the bedroom.

"No, Oreo scratched me and I can't leave the babies with the cats." Derek answered, standing up and went to get a paper towel to wrap around his hand.

"I'm almost done and I'll come help." Meredith told him. Derek breathed a sigh of relief and turned his attention to the babies, both of whom were fast asleep.

Meredith exited the bedroom and walked to where her husband and babies were.

While Derek went to clean up, Meredith spent some time with her babies, the cats snoozing nearby.

As they put the babies to bed, Derek realized how much April looked like him, while Sean looked liked Meredith.

"You okay?" Meredith asked as the two of them exited the twins' nursery and headed to the master bedroom.

"I'm fine. What about you?" Derek inquired, slipping out of his clothes and put his pajamas on.

"Tired." Was Meredith's reply. Derek didn't blame her – being a parent was hard.

Derek offered to take care of the babies so that Meredith could get some sleep.

* * *

Derek sighed as he entered the house. It had been a long day and he wanted some time to himself.

"Dada." April cooed, walking over to him. Derek smiled and put his briefcase away before picking up his daughter. Sean and April were now a year old and Derek couldn't believe it.

"Hi honey." Derek greeted her, kissing her cheek before setting her back down.

"Sean, look, daddy's home." Meredith's sweet voice greeted Derek's ears. Looking up, he saw Meredith coming over to him, Sean in her arms.

"How were they today?" Derek asked, kissing Meredith's cheek.

"They were good. April was having a little bit of breathing trouble earlier, but I think she's okay now." Meredith answered.

"I'll check on her in a minute." Derek said, rushing to the bathroom.

After he exited the bathroom, he walked to the family room and saw the twins watching Handy Manny on TV. He carefully picked April up and carried her to the twins' bedroom.

"Mommy told me that you were having some breathing trouble. Are you okay?" Derek asked her. April nodded as Derek got his medical kit and checked her breathing. Everything sounded fine.

"Are you hungry, munchkin?" Derek inquired. April nodded again, tears in her eyes. "What's wrong, honey?"

"Derek? What's going on?" Meredith called from the kitchen.

"I don't know – she just started crying."

"Give her here." Meredith told him. Derek handed April to her and went to check on Sean – he was still watching Handy Manny.

After the twins were in bed, Meredith and Derek decided to call a sitter and go see a movie.

"Derek, your phone's ringing." Meredith whispered, taking a handful of popcorn. Derek reached for his phone and exited the theater, only to return five minutes later.

"We need to go – April was just admitted to the hospital." Derek whispered in Meredith's ear. She looked at him, a shocked look on her face.

Reaching the hospital, they saw Lexie sitting in the waiting room. Derek and Meredith ran over to her.

"What happened? Where are Mark and Sean?" the couple asked at the same time.

"Mark and I were sitting on the couch, watching TV and on the monitor, he hears April struggling for breath and crying. I called you while he got the babies ready to come to the hospital. The answer to your other question is that Mark went to change Sean." Lexie answered. Meredith hugged her while Derek went to find April.

That's when Derek woke up from his nightmare.


	3. Two Birthdays In One Day

CHAPTER THREE  
(chapter title – Two Birthdays In One Day)

"Honey, be careful with the kitty. She's really old." Meredith told three-year-old Sean. He nodded and carefully pet Panda, who just laid in Meredith's lap, purring happily. Derek was at work and April was sitting nearby, playing with a Barbie doll Cristina had gotten her.

Just then, the doorbell rang, startling the cats and the couple's new Labradoodle puppy named Lucky. Lucky started barking, which made April and Sean cry.

"Lucky! No! Quiet!" Meredith told the puppy as she went to answer the door. Standing before her were Izzie and Alex. Meredith smiled and ushered them inside, closing the door behind them.

"They've gotten so big." Izzie noted, smiling at the babies.

"I agree." Alex spoke up, walking over to April and played with her.

That's when Meredith noticed Izzie's stomach – it was huge. Meredith was about to say something when Derek entered the house. She got up from her spot next to Sean and went to greet her husband.

"Hi sweetie." Meredith said, kissing Derek on the cheek. He smiled and kissed her on the lips. That's when he noticed Izzie and Alex, sitting on the floor, playing with the kids.

"We can't stay long – we're dropping off invitations to Izzie's baby shower." Alex told the couple, handing them a yellow envelope. Derek opened the envelope and scanned the yellow invitation that was enclosed.

"What are you guys having?" Meredith asked, writing the date on the calendar.

"Girls." Izzie answered before Alex could say anything.

"Any names picked out?" Derek inquired.

"The only names we can agree on are Emma, Sara, Keely and Amber." Alex replied.

"I like those names." Meredith spoke up.

Izzie and Alex ended up staying for five minutes before heading on. Meredith hugged her friend, knowing that they would see each other soon.

-------------------

"Okay, we've gone over everything at least twice with the sitter. Can we go _now_?" Derek inquired, a little impatient.

"Yes, honey. We can go now." Meredith told her husband, straightening his tie. He took her hands in his and kissed them, caressing her skin.

Just then, the phone rang and Meredith ran to answer it.

"Hello? Alex? Calm down…. What happened?....How long ago was she brought in?...What? Alex, I'm so sorry. We'll be right there." The conversation was short, which concerned Derek.

"What's going on?" Derek inquired.

"Izzie was in a car accident and lost one of the babies." Meredith quickly explained just as her cell phone rang. She was on it for a total of eight seconds before hanging up.

"What's going on?" Derek repeated as he and Meredith got into the car. The twins were over at Lexie and Mark's for the day.

"Izzie just went into early labor – she's not due for another two months." Meredith answered.

Without another word, the Shepherd's were in the car and went speeding for the hospital.

Ten minutes later, they arrived at the hospital and ran to meet Alex. They found him sitting in the waiting room, talking with Callie and an extremely pregnant Arizona.

"Alex? How's Izzie?" Meredith inquired.

"She's been waiting for you guys – she says she wants Derek to deliver the babies." Alex answered. With that, he and Derek disappeared.

While they were waiting, Arizona started taking short and shallow breaths.

"Arizona? Are you okay?" Meredith inquired, looking over at her friend.

"I think I'm in labor." Arizona answered, taking more breaths.

"Callie, is Arizona okay?" Meredith asked.

"Why? What's going on?" Callie inquired, looking over at her partner.

"Callie – I think I'm in labor." Arizona spoke up. Without another word, Callie helped Arizona up and the two of them went to a delivery room.

Meredith picked up a magazine and started to skim it when she felt someone come and sit down next to her. The figure then kissed her neck and took her hands in his.

"Honey, Izzie had her baby." Derek whispered in her ear. "Where are Arizona and Callie?"

"Arizona went into labor about fifteen minutes ago." Meredith said, following Derek to Izzie's room.

As Meredith entered the room, she saw that Izzie was absolutely glowing as she lay in bed, Alex by her side.

"Sara Rebecca Karev is in the NICU, due to her being born two months early. She weighed 4 lbs., 5 oz and is 14 inches long." Alex spoke up before anyone could say anything.

"Can we see her?" Derek inquired.

Just then, Callie entered the room, a big smile on her face, but it disappeared when she saw Izzie.

"Guys, we have a surprise – Arizona gave birth to twin boys." Callie told the group.

"I just had a little girl, but she's in the NICU." Izzie spoke up, her voice hoarse.

"Congrats, Izzie." Callie told the other woman.

"Thanks." Izzie said.

"What are their names?" Alex inquired.

"Daniel James and Liam Connor." Callie answered.

"Beautiful names." Derek spoke up.

"Thanks." Callie told him.

After spending time with Sara, Daniel and Liam, Meredith and Derek went back to their house to check on their twins.

"How were they?" Meredith whispered as Lexie got off the couch and stretched. Mark handed Derek a sleeping April while Meredith picked up a sleeping Sean.

"Really good." Mark whispered.

"I did some crafts with them, which they seemed to enjoy." Lexie added, kissing April's forehead.

"Thank you again for watching them." Derek whispered.

The house was now quiet – Meredith and Derek were fast asleep, along with the babies.

The next morning, Derek and Meredith took the day off so that they could spend the day with the twins – it was their fourth birthday.

"I can't believe that they're four already." Derek marveled as he pushed April on the swings.

"I know – it seems like yesterday that I gave birth to them." Meredith pointed out, chasing April around the playground.

"Mere, what about having another one?" Derek asked after the twins were down for a nap.

"Really?" Meredith inquired, smiling.

"The twins are old enough to have another sibling." Derek pointed out, kissing Meredith's cheek.

"That is a great idea." Meredith told her husband, kissing him back.

* * *

A/N: I know it's a lame ending, but I didn't know how to end it. One more chapter before this story is finished. Don't forget to read and review, please and thank you.


	4. Hold Your Dreams

A/N: THIS IS THE FINAL CHAPT. OF THE MEANING OF FAMILY. THANK YOU TO ALL WHO READ/REVIEWED - U GUYS ARE THE BEST! On a side note, there WILL NOT BE A SEQUEL, just in case you guys were wondering.

A/N 2: I don't own the lyrics to the song, Hold Your Dreams - they belong to the respected owner.

A/N 3: This is the first & last Grey's Anatomy story I will write.

* * *

CHAPTER FOUR  
(chapter title – Hold Your Dreams)

"I can't believe they're graduating high school." Meredith told her husband and thirteen-year-old daughter, Grace.

"I know – they're growing up so fast." Izzie said, squeezing Alex's hand. He gently squeezed her hand back.

"Joy Roseanna Hunt…." The rest of the names were drowned out as Joy walked across the stage, smiling at her family. Owen and Cristina had gotten married and adopted a 3-year-old daughter from China. Joy was now seventeen-years-old and was a spitting image of Cristina, but she had Owen's eyes.

"April Rose Shepherd, Sean Eric Shepherd…" Again, the rest of the names were drowned out as April and Sean walked across the stage, smiling happily. April had been accepted to Michigan State University, while Sean decided to take a year off college and backpack around Europe, along with Joy and Daniel.

"Sara Rebecca Stevens." The applause was twice as loud as Sara crossed the stage. She was a spitting image of Alex, but had Izzie's kind green eyes. She had been accepted to the University of Michigan on a singing scholarship – she had an incredibly beautiful voice.

"Daniel James Tobbins, Liam Connor Tobbins." The student body burst into applause as the boys walked across the stage. Daniel looked and acted exactly like Arizona, whereas Liam looked and acted exactly like Callie. Liam had been accepted to Harvard and was leaving in a few days. Daniel, like Sean and Joy, decided to take a year off college to backpack across Europe. As a graduation present for the boys, Arizona and Callie had combined their last names, which made the boys extremely happy.

_Countless hours of learning more  
Countless hours of knowing less  
Can't look behind you  
You have to look ahead_

"April, Sean – I'm so proud of you two." Derek told his kids that night.

"Thanks, dad." April said, hugging him tight.

"We're so proud, in fact, your father and I got you two something." Meredith said, handing Sean and April two long boxes.

"Mom, you didn't have to get us anything." Sean said, opening the box. Tears were in his eyes as he took out a pen with his name on it. April put a hand over her mouth, tears also in her eyes.

"Thank you so much." The two of them thanked their parents in unison.

"You're welcome." Derek told his kids.

Gracie hugged her siblings goodnight and went to her room to get some sleep.

_So many doubts running through your mind  
All the excuses  
Don't have the time  
All the rejection you have to leave behind_

_Leave it all behind_

Izzie hummed softly as she stroked Sara's hair while she slept. She felt Alex enter the room and rub her shoulders.

"I'm so proud of her." Izzie whispered as they exited Sara's room, closing the door behind them.

"I am, too – she's accomplished so much." Alex chimed in.

"If only Keely was alive-" Izzie couldn't bring herself to finish her sentence. Alex kissed her cheek, knowing exactly what she meant. Keely Amanda was what their other daughter was going to be named if she had survived the accident.

"Shh, baby. Let's get some sleep – Sara's leaving bright and early tomorrow-" Alex felt tears in his eyes – his baby was growing up right before his eyes and there was nothing he could do about it.

_Hold your dreams  
Don't ever let it go  
Be yourself  
And let the world take notice_

_You'll find strength  
When people bring you down  
They will see  
If you will only, only believe_

_Someway, somehow  
Don't give up now  
Don't be afraid to succeed  
_

_Someway, somehow  
The time is right now  
Don't be afraid to succeed_

It was basically like that at the Hunt's and the Tobbins'. Both Arizona and Callie ended up crying themselves to sleep – Daniel was leaving for the airport tomorrow, along with Joy.

"Hold your dreams  
Don't ever let it go  
Be yourself  
And let the world take notice…" Cristina sang softly as she watched Joy board the plane the following day. Owen wrapped an arm around her shoulders and drew her close, knowing that they would see Joy again.

"We'll see her again, don't worry." Owen reassured Cristina.

_Yeah, yeah, yeah  
Don't give up  
To succeed, yeah_

__

Come on, everybody  
It's our time, yeah  
To succeed, yeah

A week later, the kids were out of the house (except Grace), which felt weird to the Shepherd's, Hunt's, Karev's and Tobbins families.

"Hey Grace, since it's Saturday and I'm off, would you like to do something?" Derek asked his youngest. Derek saw her green-gray eyes light up as she put her book down. Meredith, unfortunately, had to work, so it was just Derek and Grace.

"What did you have in mind?" Grace asked, putting her blond hair back in a ponytail.

"I don't know – is there a movie you want to see?" Derek inquired. Grace shrugged her shoulders and followed her dad out of the house. It was pretty quiet – both cats had passed away and Lucky had been hit by a car when April and Sean were freshmen in high school. Their foster dog, Foster, was still adjusting to everything and spent most of his days hiding.

_Hold your dreams  
Don't ever let it go  
Be yourself  
And let the world take notice_

"You're lucky to have three wonderful kids." Izzie told Meredith as they ate lunch.

"Sara's such a sweet girl, so I guess you're lucky, too." Meredith said, taking a bite out of her sandwich.

"How are the kids anyway?" Lexie asked. She and Mark were the only ones of the group that didn't have kids – instead, they had two ferrets – Romeo and Juliet.

"Sean emailed us yesterday – they arrived in France and are going to Italy in a month." Meredith answered, feeling tears in her eyes. Lexie reached over and squeezed Meredith's shoulder. Meredith smiled and went back to her sandwich.

_You'll find strength  
When people bring you down  
They will see  
If you will only, only believe_


End file.
